Loses job, wins $10m on Lotto

A Hamilton man who lost his job at the start of lockdown was able to surprise his wife with a $10.3 million Lotto win lifeline.

The couple, who wish to remain anonymous, are still coming to terms with their win in the May 13 draw.

The man had lost his job in the weeks before their big win, while his wife, an essential healthcare worker, worked throughout lockdown.

The husband took a novel approach to delivering the news.

‘‘I walked into the house and my husband was sitting at the kitchen table,’’ explained the woman.

‘‘There was an envelope waiting for me in my spot. He was acting strange – it was a bit awkward.

‘‘He told me to open the envelope – inside was a newspaper clipping of an article saying someone from Hamilton had won $10.3 million. I said, ‘Why are you showing me this?’ He replied with, ‘It’s us, we are the winners.’ I thought he was joking,’’ said the woman.

‘‘He had to show me the ticket on his phone before I believed him – I’ll never forget that moment – it felt too good to be true. It was very emotional.’’

Her husband said it could not have come at a better time. ‘‘I lost my job at the beginning of the lockdown, so we’ve been really worried about our future, particularly the impact it would have on our retirement, and our children’s education.’’

He first became aware of their win when he checked his emails the day after the draw, noticing there was one from MyLotto Customer Support.

‘‘I saw an email saying I had won a prize and thought it must have been spam. I logged into MyLotto and checked my ticket – and sure enough it said I had won. My wife was at work, so I asked someone else in our bubble to check it for me to make sure I wasn’t seeing things. They confirmed: ‘Yep, that definitely says you’ve won $10 million.’ I couldn’t believe it!’’ he said.

‘‘We’re still in shock, these types of things don’t happen to people like us,’’ the woman added.

The couple celebrated that night with a bottle of bubbly. A sleepless night followed, as they talked about all the possibilities for their future.

They are planning to repair a beloved old car that broke down recently, pay off their mortgage, support their children’s tertiary education, and look for ways they can help other people in need.